Oh! There was an opportunity! The woman wrapped in red had taken refuge atop a tree branch, and down below, the massive beast howled in fury as it slashed chunks away from the base. Mimi didn't doubt the woman, who had moments prior been leaping and slashing with agility akin to the wind itself, had a back up plan of her own if the tree fell, but then why resort to back ups? Mimi gave a sharp whistle to the girl on the branch, and with a wave sent a slew of lanterns over to her. They formed a tiny platform, clattering together, and though it didn't look stable, Mimi herself was testament that they would hold her. "C'mon!" she waved, a wide grin at her lips.

The dainty little girl slithered the forest, an apex predator among the trees was hidden in one tiny package that was humming the same little lullaby. She ventured on, following specifically the two most famous persons in the world to see what they were doing matter-of-factly from a safe distance whilst keeping watch for danger that may fall onto her. Her small stride came to a halt when the party had stopped their movements. The bright shine of white light beamed from the woods and all of them were looking directly at it. The Crimson Streak prepared her blade and so did the Taskmage... Things were getting a little rowdy soon it seems! Underneath the innocent veil of the forest the beast emerged, roaring and thunder with claws swinging. She wondered how such rotten creature could remain alive. She could see the open wounds, it's ribcage and the seemingly dead fur with rotting eyes charging forward towards them intently. The bear had not caught her presence yet and she made her move to position herself carefully in the forest. The battle continued on fiercely as the bear; without fear nor remorse continued to kill its opponents in front of her. Once its sights could not reach Muzai, she leapt out of her hiding spot, seemingly from nowhere and made a 'glomping' gesture at the beast as earth beneath shook and reached out with stony fists attempting to grab the great beast down, immobilising it for an attack.

Sitting in a bush, Yem inspected the fire from a distance. It was clear that whoever had been there just a few moments ago had left in a hurry. They could have heard him approach, but it wasn't likely. Most did not detect Yem unless he wanted them to. This left Yem with more questions than answers, and a few possible scenarios. In the best of worlds, the people sitting by the fire had become afraid of Rexicorgs grim reputation and, fueled by the darkness, they had simply left the place. They could also have spotted him, however unlikely, and either run off or prepared a trap. It was also possible, and Yem hoped that it wasn't so, that something else had driven them off. Something that might or might not still be somewhere close by. It was not a safe situation, and Yem was concerned. He had seen the black shape in the fire, of course. Just lying there, unscathed by the flames, shimmering with light from the dancing flames and the watching stars. Yem suspected it was one of the relics. It felt appropriate, somehow. Meant to be, like in a great story. He also suspected that this was some sort of trap. It was too easy and obvious to not be one. Someone was watching the fire, waiting for the ideal moment to strike, or perhaps there was more to the fire than it seemed. Yem was no sorcerer, but he knew plenty of sorcery. And if sorcery could be one thing, it was subtle. The only way to be sure about anything was to deduct the possibilities, one by one. The easiest one to deduct was the presense of others. Yem might have been a mere human, with poor senses of sight, sound and smell, but he had his ways. The transformation was almost instant. Yem breathed in and closed his eyes. When he opened them again and exhaled, the world was a different place. The night was as bright as day. He could hear and place the individual whispers of the leaves in the bush. The scents of the night flowed through his snout leaving trails almost like colors through the air. Every fibre of his body stood in rapt attention, his muscles vibrant with energy. He needed one sniff to confirm his suspicions; there was someone or something nearby. It reeked of corpse, but it was moving, which told its own disturbing tale. Yem was up against an undead of some sort. This always unsettled him. Corpses should remain still, such was the way of nature. He would have to be careful. Gripping his spear in one powerful, fanged hand and his curved blade in the other, he leapt from the bush and charged the being with terrible speed. As the creature came into view, his instinct was to retreat but he forced himself to disciplin. He thrust at the Drider, the dreaded man-spider, with the full force of his charged but was easily turned aside by a flick of a chitin-clad leg. Stumbling past, it was all he could do to throw himself away to evade a stab from one of the creatures other legs. Yem rolled on the ground, quickly regaining balance, and brought his spear up to keep the fiend at bay. He would have to finish this quickly, lest he'd tire from the strain of his totem. Vile creature!, he cursed, Putrid thing! Die again in the name of all that is good and living! Return to the ground as you should have long ago! If the Drider had understood him, it gave no sign. They circled eachother, kept apart only by the length of the spear between them. Then, suddenly, the monster moved with lightning speed and forced the tip of the spear out of the way. As it jumped for Yems flesh, screeching madly, he ducked beneath it and sliced it with the blade while passing. It was not without cost, however, as the creature pricked him in the back just below the shoulderblade. It left a long scratch down Yems back, and he yelped at the pain. The two combatants quickly found their places again, and continued the dance like before. This fight would prove interesting.

Sable stared up at the girl with the lanterns blankly. Exactly…what was she trying to do? The red-clad assassin figured she was trying to help, but one bear didn’t warrant a danger to her life. Even still, she nodded at the command and leapt up, landing firmly on the tiny platform provided for her. “Hello,” she greeted, voice as robotic as always. “Thank you for the leverage. Now then, do you mind if I jump off-” She was cut off by the sound of terrible screeching. Looking down, Sable saw the boy with the chains land a direct hit into the bear’s collarbone. A sickening crunch rang out, and the bear howled in rage. Moments later, it was pinned down by the formation of massive stone hands, causing another shockwave to ripple the bear’s core. The Crimson Streak looked to the side, seeing her fangirl in the aftermath of casting a spell. So that’s what it was then. When she turned back, something was notably different about the bear. It did not continue its attack nor did was it aggressive; instead, it raised a claw and struck at the layed stone, freeing itself loosely. At once, it was turning around and fleeing the forest clearing in pain. Sable blinked in confusion before her eyes focused on something else, something that was falling back to the earth. The green Legend Relic. It must have been dislodged from the punch, meaning it wasn’t attached to the bear for very long. Without a word to the girl, Sable rocketed downwards in the attempt to catch the treasure. With the bear gone, so too was the danger factor. Now it was a free-for-all for the Relic. Farther away in Rexicorg, the Drider hissed in pain as Yem’s blade struck it underneath. Likewise, it gained some sort of primal satisfaction in knowing that it had clipped him as well. With a heart-pierced screech, it reared back and sprayed a stream of webbing from its rotting maw. It aimed to pin Yem in place, for it knew that once that was accomplished, it could freely go in for the kill. Meanwhile, the black Relic seemed to glow brighter, emitting an afterglow within the flames it resided in. It seemed to be pulsing with power, as if calling out…

Yem had no time to think and reacted on instinct. It was all he could do to sacrifice the spear in order to avoid getting caught in the web of the Drider. The weapon got stuck, glued to the sticky thing, and the beast tore it from his hand by twisting its head sideways. Armed now with only a knife, the situation looked grim. He felt the beckoning of the relic in the fire, and let his eyes get drawn to it. The stories said they were full of power, those relics. Power he could probably use now. He still hadn’t discerned whether the fire was magical or not, but at this point his options were dwindling fast. He would have to risk the fire, flee the scene or fight the Drider practically unarmed, probably resulting in his death. Yem had no wish to die, and fleeing after having come so close left a bitter taste in his mouth. He would brave it, then, and curse or thank himself later. Now there was only the matter of the Drider and how to distract it. He suddenly turned, as if to flee, and when he was sure the creature was lounging after him, Yem twisted back and threw the dagger at it. The Drider was too distracted with charging to evade in time and was struck by the sharp blade, and so Yem seized the opportunity and dashed for the relic. He could hear the creature screeching behind him as he ran, but it wouldn’t be able to catch him before he got there. He realized that he had nothing to grab the amulet with from the fire, but decided to proceed anyway. The flames licked at him as he reached in and snatched it from its place, but the pain was distant, unimportant. The adrenaline was keeping him sharp, and his body was tough when in totem shape. He stared at the relic, unsure what to do with it now that he had it, and watched with mounting terror as the monstrosity came charging at him through the night. Then, just as if he’d known it his entire life, it became apparent. He closed his eyes, and the totem ceased. She opened her eyes and saw the monstrosity before her. It was a simple matter of bending the darkness in front of its eyes in order to escape its charge. The creature stopped and looked about, puzzled, shaking its head and clawing at its face is confusion. She had, meanwhile, produced her bow and was lining up a shot even as the creature was still trying to regain its sight. With a soft twang, the arrow left her bow, and with a quiet thud it embedded itself right between the eyes of the Drider. It gurgled, still more dumbfounded than before, and touched its hand to where the arrow was lodged into its skull. Then it started swaying, mildly first but soon wildly, and finally collapsed in a jumble of chitin and undead flesh. She dismissed the magic with a thought and walked up to the beast. The bowstring hummed once more, another arrow digging into the creatures head, just to make sure it stayed dead this time. The she put her bow away and inspected her surroundings. It was a strange place, this. She recognized it slightly, as if she’d seen it in a dream somewhere, but couldn’t place it. Then she looked at her hands, and her feet, and touched her hand to her face. Now this was interesting. Suddenly, there was a tugging sensation in her stomach, and she felt her conscience rapidly fading. She closed her eyes, believing she was about to faint, and then everything went black. He opened his eyes and took a desperate, ragged breath, like if he’d been drowning. That had been… interesting, to say the least. Unexpected, but interesting. He had seen everything, seen how he had killed the monster with a bow he apparently no longer possessed, seen him inspect himself. He hadn’t heard himself say anything, or think anything, but he knew somehow that another mind had been in his body. He had done all those things, yes, or at least his body had. This truly was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Pain rushed to greet him, and he grunted as his burned hand and cut back made themselves known to him once more. He would need to rest and heal, preferably somewhere safe. He would have to find a tavern, or a farm with rooms to let. Night or no, he could not stay here.

The bear's roar didn't even phase the Taskmage, as Atreides used as a title as often as his own name, letting the beast focus its attention on him, and him alone. Of course, the rest of the present mercenaries and hunters present ganged up on the distracted creature and bring it down to its knees, the gem falling from its eyesocket. The thing limped away, already dying as it seemed the gem was fueling its survival. Sable would take care of the gem, probably, that bear was dying regardless of what it did. He quietly chased the creature, flames vanishing from his arm and sword, disappearing into the shadows of the forest, chasing the thing's wounded trail. It didn't take long to find, the exposed ribs and damage having slowed it down. "Don't know what the hell happened to you, creature, but you won't last long. Going to keep fighting?" It had not intended to continue the fight, but cornered it did, roaring and lunging at the Taskmage who had previously been sheathed in fire. One blow later, however, and it slammed into the ground behind the Taskmage, unmoving. Atreides cleaned the blood from his sword, shaking his head. Whatever had wounded the beast so and left that relic in its eye was cruel. Oh well, it was out of its misery now. Atreides started walking back to where the others were no doubt going to be squabbling over the relic. Frankly put, he was more vested in helping Sable then the relics themselves, but it was irrelevant either way. Arms in his coat pockets, he walked back to see how the petty squabble was going on, starting the same irritating whistle that he had been doing prior to them running into all those people.

Mal grinned as he felt brittle bone crack beneath his fist, but then he felt it shake beneath him as the earthen hands grabbed at the bear's side. He called back his chains, wiping one hand across his forehead to deal with access sweat as he panted while they returned. When he looked back, however, he caught the emerald gleam as the relic dropped from the creature's eye. The bear itself was shaking beneath him as it broke free of the rock's grasp, giving Mal little time to react. Already he was losing energy fast. His body was at the verge of aching as his adrenaline started to pewter away. He figured he could get two more commands in maximum, and that was giving up the strength and speed of the spirit to do so. He took a deep breath, and the mark's heat dissipated as the growing spirals returned to its point of origin. Then, with a quick glance at what was in front of him, and his hands firm on the two chains as they looped around his waist, he leaped off the giant creature and called to his chains. "Crowley, reach for the tree!" Mal shouted and the chain on his right complied. It stretched towards the bark and slammed the sharp point into the tree's side. Then, as his right hand grabbed the links firmly, he called the chain on his right into action, "Naga, grab that relic as we swing by!" His right chain pulled taut as his feet neared the ground. The left chain rushed forward towards the gemstone, and Mal's eyes widened as the girl in red leaped towards it from the tree. There was a split-second difference. It was still everyone's game, he told himself, but he knew that there was no way he'd have enough energy after this encounter to defend it feasibly. He really should've saved on the energy before coming here. Then again, he had not expected resistance. Or competition.

"Hmm?" Midst the surge of spells stunning and suppressing the bear, Ugnis heard something like a small rock bouncing off the ground towards him. Unable to tell and curious as to what it was, he spun his leg out towards it and scooped it with his foot towards himself with surprising finesse and accuracy as he heard Sable and a chain lash out at it. But upon snagging it, Ugnis felt a dark, familiar pulse echo through his body and mind. He cringed slightly and started taking short, quick breaths. Was this what made that bear go wild? "I-is this a relic?" Ugnis asked with a slightly shaky voice. "This is... dangerous." He had no interest in the Relics or money in the first place and, now that he'd come into contact with one, had become absolutely clueless as to why anyone would want to collect them. Like dried skulls. Those are weird people.

Mimi’s attention turned to the bear as it scampered away. Perhaps it wasn’t so fierce after all, the poor little thing must have just been angry. She didn't notice Sable leaping down, but the lanterns recoiled away so as not to impede her fall. Something shimmered on the ground below, and she figured that must have been what Sable was after. It was certainly shiny enough to be considered a prize, and after such a riveting bout of cooperative and tactical combat it… She paused, was the air a bit more tense? A few people went for the gem, and Mimi had an uneasy feeling that the first person to grab it was going to make a few enemies on the spot. If a battle was to break out over it, she wanted to be out of its way. But then what of the red girl? Did she even need to worry about her? She had that burly looking man with the fire accompanying her, surely she could fend for herself with him at her side. So then, what of the others? Ugh, conflict always confused her. As the other lanterns returned to her own platform, Mimi resigned to simply observe, and only involve herself if someone seemed in true danger.

Sable saw the hooded boy lashing out with a chain and reacted appropriately. Gripping one of her knives, she hurled it downwards to intercept the attack, deflecting the blow. Now that the air was clear, she focused her descent on snatching the Relic. The Crimson Streak could see it clearly now, reaching out for the treasure… “There are no do overs.” What? Caught off guard, Sable instinctive flashed her knife out, slashing once at nothing but thin air. The blade of her dagger clanked against the Relic, sending it flying towards the man with the blindfold. Landing on the ground, she wondered immediately why her legs weren’t running after it. That voice…it took her a second to realize that it was coming from her head. Or rather, it came from her head, as now she heard nothing but the sounds of the external world. How odd. It had sounded…taunting. Sable frowned, interest in the green Relic gone for now. “Want…..Her…..” The voice called out again, except this time in the presence of Yem. It called out, yearning for the boy to find it, to seek it out. Then all things would be aligned once more. The voice seemed to be coming from one of the many cavernous ruins. A faint purple glow reflected off of the walls.

Yem looked at the light shining from within the ruins and frowned. He had of course heard about the purple relic as well, and he acknowledged that whatever was in there could be it, but seeking it out now was too risky. He was wounded and had spent his strength fighting the Drider. Using the amulet had saved him, but there were too many unknown factors in using it again while he was in this weakened state. It could also be another trap, or something completely different trying to lure him into its cavern. He would definetly return here later, as he could easily find his way back, but now was not the time. For now he would rest and heal and divine as much as he could about the relic currently in his possession. He turned away from the light and, supported by his spear, began limping away through the night. He reckoned he could retrace his steps to that old tavern at the crossroads by dawn if he kept up the pace.

A curse danced on the edge of Mal's tongue as Naga hit dirt instead of the relic. As his swinging slowed, he pulled Crowley from the tree's bark and stumbled to the ground. The shadows gripping his chains dissipated in seconds as he struggled off the ground using the tree as leverage. He grinned at the scarlet warrior who knocked his spearhead out of the way as he started to pull back on the chains and work them into loops. His panting was heavy, and sweat dripped from his brow as he tumbled to the ground and leaned back against the tree. He scanned for the Relic. His vision passed over the rocky hands reaching out of the ground with one or two dislodged fingers, and they fell to the blindfolded man once more, who was holding the very same Relic in his hand. When the Crimson Streak's knife hit the relic, it must've knocked it over in that direction. Mal's eyes widened. He may have lost the race, but at least there was hope. Unlike the others, the blindfolded man gave off a somewhat different vibe. Maybe he wouldn't be willing to sell that power to the oppressive rulers of their world. It appeared as though the women in red was distracted by something else at the moment, but that wasn't Mal's concern at the moment. As he lay panting against the tree, with most of his energy expunged, he called out to the man. "Hey... What're you planning on doing with that relic?" He yelled from his sitting position. He tightened the chains around his waist like a belt of stone, "Coz if you weren't gonna sell it, then it's all yours..." He leaned back against the tree, and toyed with the idea of a nap. He could really use it, after all...

Ugnis was surprised when he heard the distinct sound of a blade on the relic, but was more surprised as to why not one of the other mercenaries came after him when he caught it. "Weren't they after this?" he asked himself quietly as he took in the sounds of their breathing, the boy's notably more labored than Sable's. Ugnis understood that exhaustion would have prevented either of them from pursuing the relic, but why had the seemingly normal Crimson Streak suddenly stop and lose interest? "I suppose I shouldn't worry about it," He thought to himself, perfectly fine with not having to fend them off. After a silent moment among all of them, he heard a shout come from the boy, posing an important question: what would he do with the relic? Noticing the breathing sleepily slow, Ugnis raised his voice. "Kid, the town's right next to you. At least try to get there before you crash for the night." He walked towards where the boy was to lend a hand, gathering the possible solutions for the question asked of him. "I don't need money, but I don't really want to keep this thing around," Ugnis thought, as he rolled the artifact in his hand, feeling the wild energy it seemed to be emitting. "I can't give it to the other mercs because they'll probably just sell it, and the boy doesn't want that to happen for some reason." Ugnis sighed at the answer he came to. "I suppose I'll be keeping this for now." he announced, not really wanting the burden to fall on himself. Nonetheless, it felt fulfilling to have it for some reason. He'd just have to work a bit harder to stay calm. Suddenly, Ugnis remembered to do something else. "Say, what's your name anyways, kid?" He could never tell who someone was unless their name was mentioned. Thus, it became a personal duty for Ugnis to learn every person's name that he came across, especially if they were a fellow mercenary that wasn't out for his blood.

Atreides caught the tail end of the squabble and action going on between the various people. Sable seemed to be doing rather well by herself so far, then something happened. Something distracted her, he knew Meat well enough to know when that happened, and her next throw sent the relic hurtling off towards a blind man. Great, unknowns, of everyone here, he knew that blind was NOT defenseless. The man declaring it would be his and his alone didn't help, and his comment was not nearly as pleasant as everyone else so far, speaking from experience. "Or we take a relic of mysterious capacities, considering what it damn well did to that bastard of a bear, and get rid of it before it starts causing problems here? Turn a profit along the way as well, split it since you have custody. Everyone of us gets a cut and walks away a bit richer." Atreides glanced at Sable briefly, she knew the expression on his face. It was one of that they would talk over what happened. Later. But for now he returned his focus onto the kid and blind man, arms crossed like he was not going to be of any threat what so ever. His motions coming out here were precise and controlled, seeming to have moved in a small circle for no apparent reason, for those who were paying attention. Most probably missed his small oddity in his motions coming out to speak to the two younger folks. He didn't relish the thought of splitting the pay, but some money was better than none, so he awaited their responses, and keeping the corner of his vision on Sable just in case. He did make one last question, making sure they knew he expected an answer. "How about it kids? Relics tend to contaminate their surroundings or bearers when improperly built, and looking at the bear's remains, that damn thing leaks magic everywhere."

Mal's smile was softer than normal as he took the hand of the blindfolded man and hauled himself up to his feet. He barely managed to keep from stumbling into the man as exhaustion tried to weigh him down. Even at this distance he could feel the magic energy buzzing off his skin. He could feel the spirit inside him strain against his skin as if prepared to lash out at the object. "Thanks..." He chuckled, "and the name's Mal Tersva. Pleasure..." He struggled to keep his balance. The chains went from something bearable to the weight of the world as his legs shook. He was a legitimate glass cannon - he knew that. And the spirit sapped a lot from him too. His eyelids felt like falling down on him, which he really wish they didn't - Because with Eye-patch's last comment, Mal desperately wanted to drive one of his snakes through the man's throat. Still using Blindfold as support, he stepped towards the eye-patch guy, "Oh, because the people you're selling it to will just lock it away, right? Or are you apathetic to the rest of the world's plight? The 13 might've stopped the Shattering but this world is still in shambles, and I doubt some selfish ruler is gonna make it better..." And with his monologue, Mal fell to his knees, his breathing heavy as dark spots gathered at the edges of his vision. Damn it... don't pass out now! he thought as he held onto consciousness with heavy breathing.

Sable blinked at the sound of her partner’s voice, looking up in time to catch his knowing glance. To that, she simply nodded, listening in silence between the three men’s conversation. Hearing the hooded boy practically threaten Atreides, she moved to grab the eye-patched man’s arm softly, stopping him before he did something stupid. “Apologies,” she said in monotone to the hooded boy. “Consider the Relic yours to do with for now. There are others to search for. Enjoy your day.” With that said, she turned in the other direction and walked away, expecting Atreides to follow her. It was best not to create an enemy they knew nothing about, especially one with dark powers like that. She could sense the negativity in that boy, almost like the… “I heard a voice,” she said aloud, hopefully to Atreides if he actually bothered to follow. If not, she didn’t mind talking her thoughts out to herself. Something was…wrong here. “Get the fuck back here!” A crackle of purple colored electricity exploded through the small cavern. Although the Relic had not moved physically, an overbearing presence began to fill the area around it, almost like a mist of negativity. “Bring me the bitch you worthless piece of shit! Bring me to her!” The Relic continued to scream out curses and threats to the fading form of Yem before slowly decreasing in volume. The electricity seemed to recline back into the Relic, as if satisfied by something. It would wait then. Wait until its bringer would return.

Sable laid a hand on his arm, and that was the only thing that saved the lad from Atreides right then and there. He had the gall to talk about the world being broken, like no one else realized that? The Taskmage knew the world was broken, far worse than any of these kiddies probably realized, and they had the gall to talk that kind of game. Before she drug him off, Atreides walked over and loomed over the kid, single eye glaring coldly down at the barely standing lad, his presence oppressing and ominous. The man was easily taller and held a far more focused, cold, unyielding anger at the hubris and blind pride the boy just threw in his face. "So, you think you know how bad the world is broken, eh kiddie? Triple whatever you are thinking, and you might have a fraction of it right. This world is doomed, and every fragment of it doomed. I've seen it far clearer then anything you could conjure up in your wildest, most horrific nightmare. So don't go preaching to me about how the world's broken, kid, unless you've really seen how bad it is. Lucky you though, you heard the lady. Relic's yours for now. And save your damn threats for someone you can actually keep up with, and can give enough of a shit about whatever you think you are. Because no matter how big, how bad, and how tough you think you are, there's always someone bigger, badder, and tougher than you. Might be me, might not be me, might never meet them, might meet them today. But there is someone. So watch your tongue, or someone with less restraint will rip it out, just. Like. That." Within the blink of an eye, Atreides snapped his hand within an inch of the kid's throat, and let loose a harsh, barking laugh as he turned and strode away, every movement seeming to taunt and insult the kiddie. Even the coat's billowing in the breeze seemed to invite him to try and prove him wrong. The Taskmage was too tired, too old compared to the rest of this lot to put up with this kind of crap, and if it wasn't for Sable intervening, he would have shown the kid how deep he was almost in. Five minutes, at worse, he rated the kid lasting. If he was unusually talented, maybe. But he vanished into the woods after Sable, catching up in time to hear her comment, and he grunted, rotating his shoulder. "Hearing voices already, Meat? You can't be that old yet, or I'm far blinder than I realized. But seriously, what did this voice say?" Atreides smirked, following up his humor with something more serious and on topic, letting her take the lead with however she wanted to approach this situation that she was dealing with it.

The conflict had come to a close so suddenly that Mimi wondered why she’d worried in the first place. Though it looked for a moment as if the boy and the larger man were going to argue, in the end the former looked far too tired to actually do anything. She floated down once the red-wrapped girl had started away, and was tempted to follow after her. But as had been aptly demonstrated during the encounter, she and the large man were very well-equipped to handle themselves. It was a pity, really, the few words Mimi had exchanged with her were pleasant, perhaps the first she’d had with another person in a long while. On the bright side, this meant that she could make new friends with the boy and the blindfolded man. Her lanterns moved her back up high, and over the two as the large man retreated back into the forest. He had a harsh tone to his voice, unpleasant, like stone grinding on stone; she was glad when he was gone, and the fact that he was going with the red-wrapped girl made her less saddened by her decision to stay. So, the girl remained hovering above, seated upon the tiny platform of lanterns, watching the blindfolded man and the energetic boy.

While it seemed to Ugnis that everyone in the world was far too mature, far more grim than necessary, he found that mercenaries tended to be the darkest of all. But that Taskmage guy? He was like a really cynical flower, shooting out pessimistic pollen to make everyone cry and sneeze. Everyone knew about how bad the world was; there wouldn't be mercenaries everywhere if it were good. But to say that it's all bad is a vast overstatement, one that pissed off Ugnis to no extent. "That guy... why does he spend his time left in this 'doomed' world working for people that make it worse?" he thought to himself, tilting his head upwards towards what little of the sky showed through the canopy, burying his anger as he always did. "I'll invite him for tea the next time I see him." Talking couldn't change someone like that, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't give it a try. Ugnis sighed as he noticed the fatigued breaths. He stooped down and scooped up Mal, saying irritably, "How does someone get so tired that they can't stand from a short fight like that?" It was going to be a pain trying to find an inn, since Mal was half-asleep and... well, Ugnis wouldn't be able to find one in the first place. Sighing again, Ugnis plopped down beside Mal. "Anyways, my name's Ugnis C'zair. If you think you're awake enough to find an inn, I'll be fine with carrying you to it." It'd help if someone could direct them, but Ugnis didn't hear anyone nearby.

The little Muzai quickly made her way over to her stars. The Crimson Streak and the Taskmage standing nearby and followed them purposelessly. Using her short height to her advantage to move through the natural lands easily to navigate her way along. "Heyy! Don't leave me behind! I wanna follow you!" She shouted the two. Seems like the two was dealing with something. All that Muzai could do at the moment was to stand by and watch, since she wasn't told to do anything yet anyway. How fun! Maybe she wanted to annoy them? Help them? Or maybe idolise them?? She doesn't know yet. All she knows is she wants in!